HC Deb 19 July 1990 vol 176 c659W
Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animal welfare inspections were made by state veterinary officers in each of 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.

Mr. Maclean

The number of visits to farms specifically to carry out animal welfare inspections in each of these years was:

Year Inspections
1985 6,064
1986 5,804
1987 5,219
1988 5,670
1989 3,902

The reduction in 1989 was due largely to the need to divert the effort of the state veterinary service to tackling the problems of BSE. However, veterinary officers continued to monitor welfare in the course of their visits to farms for other purposes.